The Love of Another
by littlemissletitia
Summary: A family is torn apart by the kidnapping of the girl, Grace, and our favourite notquite captain is here to save the day. Or not save the day, as the case may be...
1. Chapter 1

The Love of Another

"Grace!" yelled a male voice, hammering on the door. "Wake up this instant, you lazy so-and-so!"

"Five more minutes," murmured Grace, snuggling further into her comfortable bed.

"It'll take less than five minutes for the pirates to reach your room and cut your throat!" came the urgent reply.

"Pirates?" she repeated, alarmed. Grace jumped out of bed and raced to her door. She pulled it open to find her seventeen year old brother, Andrew standing there with a mischievous grin playing around his lips.

"My, you do look beautiful, first thing in the morning, Gracie," Andrew laughed, noting his sister's disheveled hair and lack of proper clothing. Grace blushed. She really shouldn't be parading herself around in her nightwear, even in front of her family.

"There are no pirates, are there?" she asked suspiciously. Andrew shook his head.

"No. Well, not unless you count the one coming up the stairs." Grace's eyes widened, but as she saw the small figure winding his way up the spiral staircase to the first floor, she relaxed and laughed. "David!" she called and her little brother raced towards her, arms open wide. She caught him and lifted him up. She kissed the top of his head. "Oh, I missed you!" she exclaimed. "Did you have a nice time with Daddy?" The six year old nodded.

"I met a pirate." Grace raised her eyebrows and looked at Andrew.

"Oh?" she asked. "You did, did you?" David nodded again.

"He had an eye patch, and a wooden leg and a parrot." "Really?" Grace grinned at the little boy. "And what was his name?" David pondered for a moment, head cocked on one side.

"Crash," he replied. "Crash Bang Wallop." Grace laughed and set him down. As he wound his way back down the stairs, Andrew said,

"Did you fail to acknowledge the fact that I was also away at sea for two weeks?"

"I didn't fail to acknowledge the fact," Grace replied, "I simply relished it."

At breakfast Grace greeted her father with a huge hug and kiss, both of which he returned.

"How's my baby girl been?"

"Bored. Honestly, it's so dull sitting around in _England_ while you take the boys to France, America, and the Caribbean. Why can't I come?"

Grace's father, Phillip Renishaw sighed and ran a hand through his hair, before replying, "Gracie, we've spoken about this before. It's too dangerous-"

"Too dangerous? Papa, David is _six years old_ and you've taken him on voyages! I'm nine years older than him. How is it dangerous for me but not for David?"

"Grace, please." This was a different voice. It was that of Rebecca, the children's mother. "Your father's only just back from France and you're arguing already?"

"We weren't arguing, Rebecca, merely discussing."

"Good. Breakfast?"

After breakfast, Phillip called Grace, telling her he had a surprise for her. All previous disagreements were forgotten when he produced the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. It was white, and embroidered with tiny, delicate pink roses. Amidst the intricate white swirls were splashes of gold and silver.

"How much did you pay for this?" Grace exclaimed in awe. "Papa, it's beautiful!"

Phillip smiled warmly. "Never you mind about the cost. Only Paris' finest for my daughter."

"Thank you so much!" Grace threw her arms around her father and clung to him as she had done when she was younger. Phillip gladly returned the embrace.

"I'm sorry about this morning," Grace said, finally breaking away. "I never mean to argue, I suppose I just feel… cheated. But I know I shouldn't do, as you buy me all sorts of beautiful things. And I am grateful, but I miss you so when you're at sea. I wish I could spend more time with you." Phillip looked at his daughter, solemn and teary-eyed, and a wave of pity washed over him.

"Possibly- I'll consider taking you on my next voyage," he said, defeated by the lovely doe eyes, which instantly brightened up.

"Really?" Grace quipped.

"Really," Phillip nodded, smiling.


	2. Chapter 2

Three nights later, it was Phillip Renishaw's birthday, in honour of which the family was holding a ball.

Phillip was one of the richest silk merchants in England, and was renowned worldwide for his products, hence the many overseas strips.

Grace had spent almost the entire day being excitable about the ball with her maid and best friend, Stephanie.

"I wish you could come, Stephanie", Grace said as the girls worked at attaching miniscule porcelain roses to hair grips. "Won't Mrs Saunders let you have one night off?" Mrs Saunders was the housekeeper of the Renishaw mansion. As fierce as she was kind, she was not one to be crossed.

"I'm afraid not Miss," replied Stephanie wistfully. "I had Saturday off to visit my mother."

"Oh," Grace replied. "Oh well, it's only a silly old ball." She didn't sound convinced, however. "Here," she said, leaning forward and removing Stephanie's headwear. Long blonde curls came tumbling out from underneath the cap. Grace fixed two of the rose slides in the other girl's hair. Stephanie looked in the mirror and gasped. She looked beautiful, something which she had never noticed before.

"No, Grace, I couldn't possibly-"

Grace interrupted her. "Oh, don't be silly, Steph, you spent half the day making the things! And you've such lovely hair. It's the very least you deserve."

"Oh. Thank you!" Stephanie beamed.

Later that evening, Grace descended the stairs with David and Andrew into the ballroom. She was wearing the Parisian dress and rose slides in her hair, whilst the boys were wearing thick jackets complete with gold braid. David kept fidgeting with the stiff collar of his. The children were followed by Rebecca and Phillip, both resplendent in their own finest clothes. Heads turned, applause broke out and the orchestra struck up a stunning rendition of Phillip's favourite song.

About an hour later was when the trouble began. Grace was dancing with an appallingly dim boy named Henry who seemed intent on boring her to death with stories of his alarmingly dull excursion to the Lake District.

The oak double doors opened to admit the latest batch of guests, but these were not noblemen and women in all their finery come to wish Phillip a happy birthday. They were a bunch of rough, dirty, fierce looking men. Pirates.

People gasped and the orchestra stopped playing. The men hired to open and close the doors hastily tried to block the intruders out, but to no avail. The most fearsome looking, the leader, strode confidently into the centre of the ballroom, pushing stunned people aside. The others followed him.

Henry, acting in what he must have assumed was a chivalrous manner, drew his ceremonial sword from the sheath at his waist and said

"Don't be afraid, Miss Renishaw, no harm will come to you". He turned, expecting to see Grace with an adoring look upon her face, but instead he didn't see her at all.

The reason for that was that she was pushing through the hordes of frightened guests, seeking her family. At last, a pair of hands caught her shoulders, and Grace was relieved to look into the worried eyes of her mother.

"Where are your brothers?" she asked in a panicked whisper. Before Grace could answer, a harsh voice rang out across the hall.

"Where might the birthday boy be?" A pause followed.

"I'm here", announced Phillip, stepping forward bravely. "What do you want?" The pirate moved closer to the other man and said "You owe me something from a long time ago."

Phillip's eyes widened and he scanned the room looking for his wife. Upon seeing her, he shouted

"Rebecca! Get the children to safety, _now_!" That earned him a punch in the face.

Rebecca grabbed Grace's hand and pulled her to the side staircase, which was seldom used. Andrew was already ascending, dragging a terrified David behind him.

"Go upstairs," Rebecca said urgently, "lock yourselves in one of the rooms and don't come out until you're sure it's safe. And stay together!" she added as Grace ran up the first few steps. She caught up with the boys, just as a bullet became embedded in the wall to the right of Andrew's head. He froze, and his younger siblings followed suit. Mounting the stairs below them was a pirate, menacing grin spreading across his face. Grace backed up one step and tripped. Her shoe came off, and she grabbed it and hurled it at the advancing pirate. It hit him in the head and disorientated him for a moment. She shook the other shoe off as she pulled herself up and almost flew up the last few stairs, urging her brothers on. They came to David's nursery, the door to which Andrew wrenched open, pushing the other two inside and slamming the doors shut behind him. He immediately started dragging furniture in front of the door to form a barricade. Grace picked up little David, who was crying, and set about trying to soothe him with his favourite toys whilst also trying to gauge information from Andrew.

"He said 'you owe me something,' Andrew. What did that pirate mean?" She sat down on top of the toy box, stroking David's hair.

Andrew turned to face her, pushing his hair back from his forehead.

"I don't know, Gracie. I suppose he wants revenge".

"Is he going to kill our father?"

"I really don't know". He walked over to sit next to Grace. She was sitting with David on her knee, clutching him. They both looked as terrified as he felt, but he mustn't let it show, he thought. He had to be the strong one. He put his arm around Grace and her head rolled back on to his shoulder. She tried to banish her fears. It didn't work. Especially not when they heard a gunshot and a scream. Grace jumped up.

"That's Stephanie," she said quietly, in disbelief. She ran for the door. Andrew had to grab his sister to hold her back, and it was taking all of his strength to do so.

"That's Steph!" she screamed, struggling. "That's my best friend!"

"Shh," Andrew said, trying to calm her down. "It's alright, Gracie, don't panic." She fell still and turned to look at her brother.

"But it's not alright," she said, "is it?"

No sooner had Andrew opened his mouth to utter a comforting reply did the door burst open, regardless of the furniture piled in front of it. Andrew thrust Grace behind him and drew a pistol which she didn't even knew he had. She seized David's hand and they stood, terrified, behind their older brother.

"What do you want?" Andrew said to the two pirates who stood before them, his voice all but shaking.

"Just a little chat," one of them said as he swung his own pistol at Andrew's head. Before he had time to react, he was unconscious.

"Andrew!" both Grace and David screamed.

The pirates looked up, as if noticing them for the first time.

"Hello, my lovelies." The smile which had been flitting across his face moments before disappeared, leaving a cold, hard stare. "Give us the little boy."

"What? No!" Grace exclaimed and her hands tightened on David's shoulders.

"Come on, love," said the pirate who hadn't spoken yet. "We can do it the easy way, but after that people start to get hurt."

"Well, I'd die first," said Grace, rather bravely .She picked David up, and as she swung him around his little feet collided with the heads of the pirates, knocking them off balance.

"Sorry David, but that was necessary," she muttered. She grabbed Andrew's collar and dragged him out of the nursery, closing the door behind her. She let go of her brothers and took hold of the door handle. She braced herself and jerked it upwards, virtually locking the door. It was a trick she had learned from Andrew years ago, and was glad to finally be able to put it to use. Grace bent down to David's level and spoke in a hushed, hurried tone.

"David, I need you to be a big, brave boy for me now. Can you do that?" The child nodded.

"Good," Grace continued. She explained to him to lock himself in their parents' bedroom, and only to open the door when the heard the special knock; three short taps followed by three long ones. That would be Grace. She wanted David to go ahead so she could drag the still unconscious Andrew along a corridor and up a flight of stairs whilst knowing that her younger brother was safe.

As David ran off, Grace turned around to get a better grip on Andrew, but her arms were seized and she found herself under the fierce glare of the pirate captain who had hit her father.

"Don't move, missy," he said. "Don't even think about it". The sound of his voice alone was enough to silence Grace. Her instincts screamed at her to break free and run, but she simply couldn't.

"Good girl", her captor said. "That was a very noble thing you did, trying to rescue your brothers. Shame they're not here to rescue you, eh?"

"What are you going to do?" she managed to stutter.

"A long time ago," he explained, "your father angered me very much, and I swore I'd take revenge. And I can't imagine what would hurt him more than taking his precious little girl away from him, can you?"

With that, he took out his pistol and hit her over the head with it. Grace joined her brother on the floor.


End file.
